16-706: The La Mesa Watershed Reservation is a protected area that preserves the only major watershed in Metro Manila , Philippines . Also known as the Novaliches Watershed , it contains the last remaining rainforest of its size in Metro Manila surrounding the La Mesa Dam and Reservoir , the primary source of potable drinking water for 12 million residents in the Manila metropolitan area. The area
32-680: Is situated on a flat-topped hill or mesa at the foot of the southern Sierra Madre mountain range west of the Marikina Valley. It is about 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) north from the center of Quezon City in Diliman, and some 20 kilometers (12 mi) northeast from the center of Manila in Rizal Park . The highest elevation in Quezon City is in the watershed's northern tip at 250 meters (820 ft) above sea level. It centers on
48-551: Is under jointly controlled and supervised by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System . It was established in 2007 through Proclamation No. 1336 issued by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo . The La Mesa Watershed encompasses an area of 2,659 hectares (6,570 acres) in the northern fringes of Quezon City , Caloocan and Rodriguez , Rizal . It
64-706: The 33-hectare (82-acre) ecological park known as the La Mesa Eco Park. This park located at the southern edges of the watershed in East Fairview is administered by the Quezon City Parks Development and Administration Department and was opened in 2003. The Tullahan River which passes through Malabon and Navotas starts from the La Mesa Watershed Reservation. It flows until Manila Bay . In 2015, it
80-533: The 700-hectare (1,700-acre) La Mesa Dam and Reservoir in Novaliches, an artificial lake which was created in 1929 as part of Manila's Ipo –Novaliches– San Juan water system under the American colonial government . The surrounding 2,000-hectare (4,900-acre) forest contains more than 50 kilometers (31 mi) of nature trails and serves as the lungs of Metro Manila, providing it with clean air. It also contains
96-724: The La Mesa Watershed Reservation was found to be prone to erosion and landslide. List of protected areas of the Philippines In the Philippines, protected areas are administered by the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) under the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992. As of 2020, there are 244 protected areas in
112-895: The La Mesa reservoir are shallow with exposed mudflats , swampforest, reed and other swamp vegetation. Its forest serves as an important breeding area for a variety of wildlife species and birds such as the little heron , black-crowned night heron , osprey , Japanese sparrowhawk , plain bush-hen , common moorhen , Eurasian coot , Philippine coucal , Philippine nightjar , island swiftlet , spotted wood kingfisher , common kingfisher , white-collared kingfisher , Philippine pygmy woodpecker , barn swallow , pied triller , ashy minivet , Philippine bulbul , black-naped oriole , Oriental magpie robin , Arctic warbler , grey-streaked flycatcher , pied fantail , yellow-bellied whistler , grey wagtail , brown shrike , olive-backed sunbird , and lowland white-eye . The most common tree species found in
128-518: The Philippines, covering a total area of about 7,760,000 hectares (19,200,000 acres) – 15.4% of the Philippines' total area. The first important legislation that formed the basis of the current system of national parks and protected areas in the Philippines is Act No. 648, enacted in 1903 by the Philippine Commission . This act authorized the civil governor to "reserve for civil public purposes, and from sale or settlement, any part of
144-590: The first national park in the Philippines established on June 27, 1933, following this act. A series of acts and legislations were passed in the next decades that aimed to further strengthen these policies, including the Revised Forestry Code of 1975 ( Presidential Decree No. 705 ) and Forest Administrative Order No. 7. Following the 1987 Constitution , the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act
160-552: The following classifications described in Section 4 of the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992 (NIPAS Act). World Heritage Site or part of a World Heritage Site World Heritage Site or part of a World Heritage Site Grey-streaked flycatcher Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include
176-989: The public domain not appropriated by law for special public purposes." A total of eight national reserves had been established on July 26, 1904, pursuant to this law. These are the Lamao Forest Reserve in Bataan , Mariquina Reserve in Rizal , Angat River Reserve in Bulacan , Caliraya Falls Reserve in Laguna , La Carlota Reserve in Negros Occidental , San Ramon Reserve in Zamboanga , Magalang Reserve in Pampanga , and Hacienda San Antonio in Isabela . In
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#1732779843928192-461: The reservation are Malay beechwood , earleaf acacia , acacia mangium , narra , mahogany , teak , ipil-ipil , alibangbang and bangkal . Threats to the watershed's biodiversity come from land conversion and deforestation from illegal harvesting of forest products. In 2014, the La Mesa park ranger recorded a total of 25 informal settler families living within the reservation who engage in slash-and-burn cultivation or kaingin . A portion of
208-542: The same year, the Forest Act of 1904 ( Act No. 1148 ) was adopted that expanded the scope of protected areas in the Philippines. Among the first of such mountain forest reserves to be declared was Mount Maquiling declared on November 21, 1910. On February 1, 1932, the National Parks Act ( Act No. 3195 ) was enacted that formally established the national parks system in the country. Mount Arayat became
224-649: The watershed was also reportedly sold as housing for employees of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System which was flagged by the Commission on Audit . Former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez cancelled the environmental compliance certificate for the sale in December 2016. The Manila Seedling Bank conducted a five-year reforestation program at the watershed from 1978 to 1983. In a 2013 vulnerability assessment by scientist Cristino Tiburan,
240-400: Was enacted which further enhanced the administration and classification of protected areas and broadened the mandate of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in enforcing its provisions. Protected areas in the Philippines encompasses 4,620,000 hectares (11,400,000 acres) of terrestrial areas and 3,140,000 hectares (7,800,000 acres) of marine areas. They are managed according to
256-487: Was reported that 300 thousand people visit the La Mesa Watershed Reservation annually according to park officials. The protected area also has 50 kilometers (31 mi) of nature trails. The La Mesa Watershed comprises a variety of ecosystems that is home to many indigenous and endemic species of flora and fauna. Approximately 1,800 hectares (4,400 acres) are under forest cover and 300 hectares (740 acres) are open areas, pastures and areas under cultivation. Several portions of
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